Tesco horsemeat scandal: Supplier dropped over ‘breach of trust’

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Tesco has dropped supplier Silvercrest Foods over the scandal that saw several of its burger products contaminated with horsemeat.

Tim Smith, group technical director at the corporation announced the decision and highlighted a number of discrepancies with the sourcing of meat at the Irish company.

“Consequently we have decided not to take products from that supplier in future. We took that decision with regret but the breach of trust is simply too great,” he said.

However, Mr Smith went on to acknowledge that responsibility ultimately rests with Tesco and claimed nothing will be taken for granted in this area, with further checks being introduced to limit the possibility of such an incident occurring again.

“To underpin the strong measures already in place, we will now introduce a comprehensive system of DNA testing across our meat products. This will identify any deviation from our high standards,” he added.

Tesco’s internal investigation into the matter found that Silvercrest had supplied meat that was not approved for use in its products and also came from outside the UK and Ireland, despite instructions to the contrary.

Earlier in the month, the supermarket giant issued an apology to consumers, after three of its beef burger products were found to contain horsemeat.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland found that 29 per cent of one product sample was made up of this fare, relative to the beef content and all affected products were immediately removed from stores.